


Grains of Truth

by GoddessofBirth



Category: Castle, Firefly
Genre: Backstory, F/M, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-24
Updated: 2013-06-24
Packaged: 2017-12-16 01:46:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/856368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoddessofBirth/pseuds/GoddessofBirth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alexis is ten years old the first time her father tells her the story.  Written for the lovely ludzu_alus, from the prompt "rampion," and a request for Kaylee/Castle, fairytale style.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Grains of Truth

Alexis was ten years old when her father first told her the story, still young enough to want to hear fairy tales, but old enough to start questioning the logical of them. Her father had just finished tucking her in for the night and was standing to leave when she asked, 'Dad, can you tell me a story?'

He sat at the edge of her bed. 'Sure, sweetheart. Which one should it be this time? Snow White? Cinderella? I know how you love to break down the socioeconomic implications of seventh century bridal customs.'

 

She wrinkled her nose and shook her head, her red hair flying around and hitting her in the nose. 'No. Something new.'

 

'Something new, huh?' Her father got a funny look on his face and looked past her out the window for a minute. 'Alright, I can do that.'

 

She settled deeper into her bed in eager anticipation. There were definite perks to having a writer for a father.

 

When he spoke again, his voice has shifted to storyteller mode, deep and even, spinning verbal pictures and promising fantastic flights of fancy. 'Once upon a time, in a far away land, there lived a vibrant, auburn haired beauty, kind and loving, but fiery in defense of those she cared about.'

 

Alexis interrupted him. 'Let me guess...she was a princess.'

 

Her father laughed. 'No, no. In fact, she was a mechanic. She worked on the engine of an...airplane. She was part of the airplane's crew, and their main occupation was....creative acquisitions.'

 

Alexis' young brain took a few seconds to work through the words before saying flatly, 'You mean they were thieves.'

 

'Well,' her father vacillated, 'sure, if you want to call it that.'

 

'Dad...'

 

'Okay, okay, they were thieves. But gentlemen thieves, with a code of honor, just trying to make their way in the world.'

 

'Hold on a second. They were thieves, but they had an airplane they used to fly around committing crime?'

 

He gave her an exasperated look. 'That's why they call it a fairy tale. Do you want to hear this story or not?'

 

She nodded eagerly and he continued. 'But this wasn't just any crew she worked with. They had gone through many quests and travails together, magical and incredulous, and it had bonded them in such a way that they were a family, for all that only two of them actually shared blood. There was the Captain, a noble ex soldier, beaten down but not broken by life, who watched over the crew members like a father. Then, there was his first mate, a fierce female warrior who caused all who saw her to quake from both her beauty and from fear of the havoc she could wreak if she so chose.

 

In addition, the plane housed a courtesan, skilled in the arts of...making people very comfortable. The only time she and the captain weren't fighting was when they joined together to battle those that would threaten their family. There was also a doctor, educated and proper, and his sister, the youngest of the crew, who was also an assassin.'

 

'Who else?' Alexis leaned forward, her mind using her father's words to draw mental pictures of the characters.

 

'Besides the mechanic, there was only one other crew member, the Captain's hired gun. He was a brute of a man, quick with a knife and a gun, angry and combative with anyone other than his adoptive family. He was also the assassin's lov - ' he cleared his throat. '...her very chaste boyfriend.

 

'For a long time, they were relatively happy. Money was often scarce, and they were usually just one step ahead of the local authorities, but they had each other. But the young assassin, who was the mechanic's very best friend, was also extremely ill, had been for a very long time, the victim of a particularly nasty spell that sometimes made it hard for her to know reality from fantasy, that would make her turn and attack those she most cared about.

 

'One day, though, the doctor announced that he had discovered a cure, a potion that could finally set his sister's mind mainly to rights, allow her to live a more full life. The only problem was that in order to obtain it, they would have to sneak into the lair of a coven of very, very evil witches and warlocks, the very heart of darkness in their land. The cure was located there, in their garden of mystical and twisted desires.

 

'Did it have rampion in it?'

 

He smiled. 'You know, could be. You can never be too sure what goes into making these things.'

 

'And they got it?'

 

His voice slowed, became less jovial. 'Well, not exactly. They made a plan, crept in bravely through the dark of night, disengaged all the traps and searched high and low. But they found nothing. Time was running out when the mechanic spotted a corridor off to the side. She tried to get the rest of the crew's attention, but she had fallen behind and no one heard her calls. Because she was brave, and because she loved her friend, she followed the hidden passageway alone.

 

'She came to a door, and pushing it open, discovered the hidden garden they had been searching for. And there, right in the middle, was the potion, the key to the cure. She was very frightened, but she forced herself to do what needed to be done. Her whole body shook as she inched herself into the room, and she reached out her hand and pulled the potion into her grasp. She turned to go, but then **BAM**!'

 

Alexis jumped and clutched the covers in her fists, her eyes wide.

 

'The door slammed wide open and the evil warlocks poured into the room, surrounding her. Before she could even blink, they had cast a spell on her, sending both her and the cure to a far off, distant land, where everything was strange, and she was a stranger. She was trapped, lost and alone.

 

'When she came to her senses, it was the dead of night, and she was standing on the side of a road, in the middle of a raging thunderstorm. With no idea of where she was or where she was going, she did the only thing she knew to do. She started to walk.

 

'Now, the prince of the land happened to be driving his BMW down this very same road, coming home from a particularly rambunctious...council meeting.'

 

'What was his name?'

 

'Hmm...let's call him...Richard.'

 

Alexis rolled her eyes. 'Of course.'

 

'Hey, I'll have you know Richard has a long and honored history of being used as the name of royalty.'

 

She looked at him doubtfully but motioned him to continue.

 

'Anyway, when Prince Richard first saw a beautiful woman walking by the side of the road, soaking wet, he though he must be hallucinating, due to some very powerful...fruit punch...served at his meeting. But no matter how many times he blinked, she was still there, so he pulled over beside her and rolled down his window. Do you know what her first words to him were?'

 

'Let me guess... _Oh my handsome prince! You have saved me. Quick! We must now get married and live happily ever after!_ '

 

'Ah, no. Actually, she looked at him funny and asked, _Cap'n Tightpants?_ '

 

Alexis blinked. 'Dad, that doesn't make any sense.'

 

'Yeah, the prince didn't think it made any sense at first, either, but it turned out he bore a passing resemblance to someone she knew, hence the confusion. He must have been very ruggedly handsome, as well. Once they had that straightened out, though, he asked if she needed a ride. When he found out she didn't have anywhere to go, he offered to let her stay at his castle until she figured out what to do next.

 

'It wasn't very long until the prince realized he was deeply in love with the woman. She was kind, and generous, and didn't put up with any of his crap, not hesitating to slap the stupid out of him whenever he needed it. Months passed, the prince happier than he ever thought possible, and most days she seemed happy and content to be with him as well. Sometimes, though, he would find her staring out at nothing with a longing look on her face, and every once in awhile he would hear her out in his workshop, late at night, although when he woke in the morning she was always asleep beside him.'

 

'What was she doing?'

 

Her father didn't answer her, just looked past her at something only he could see, and continued talking. 'Once every month, the prince would ask her to marry him, but she always said no. When he asked why, she would only say it wouldn't be fair to him. Eventually, though, they found out they were going to have a baby.' He held up a hand, forestalling her question. 'Yes, Alexis, I know we had this talk. Yes, they should have been married first. Even princes can be stupid though. Don't forget that.

 

'Prince Richard was over the moon. He'd never thought he wanted a child, but as soon as he learned about the impending arrival, he couldn't imagine a time _not_ wanting one. He celebrated, and the whole kingdom celebrated with him. The pregnancy was uneventful, and the woman gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. The prince thought that for the first time in his life, he would finally have everything he wanted.'

 

Alexis had heard enough fairy tales that she was already tense in anticipation of the impending doom, and her father didn't disappoint.

 

'On the night of their daughter's six month birthday, he woke to see the mechanic standing by the window, clutching the baby to her breast. _What's wrong_? he asked, feeling dread begin to leech into his bones.

 

_'I fin'lly figured it out,_ she answered with a sad smile. You see, all those nights he heard her up? She had never stopped trying to discover the nature of the spell that had banished her, and she had finally managed to recreate it. She had a way to return home.'

 

Alexis sucked in a breath. 'But she stayed, right? I mean, she loved the prince, didn't she?'

 

'I think so, at least a little, but there were more things to consider than that. She had a family back in her own land, a husband, other children. Even then, though, if it was just that, the prince thought she might would have stayed. But, you see, she still had the potion, the cure. How could she selfishly stay, when she held the key to her friend's survival? I told you she was brave, and she proved it. She made an impossible choice, and the next day she was gone.'

 

Alexis sniffled. She wasn't a baby anymore, but she wasn't yet old enough that imaginary tales didn't make her sad. 'The poor prince, to lose his true love and his daughter all at once.'

 

Her father smiled, a little sad himself. 'Oh, he wasn't totally alone. The potion was a very special one. It would only work on those people who were already from the mechanic's homeland. While she could return, there was no way she could take their child with them. She would have to stay with her father. Before she left, though, she made the prince swear on all he held holy that he would be the very best parent he could possibly be, that he couldn't pass their daughter's care to the royal nannies, that he would make sure she always knew she was loved. And he promised that one day, when she could understand, he would tell her about her mother, and how much she loved her and would always miss her.

 

'As the years passed, the price kept his promise, and as he watched his daughter grow into a beautiful young lady, with all her mother's kindness and courage, with all her spirit, he found he really couldn't regret anything that had happened. He came to the conclusion that he wouldn't trade any of the sadness he might feel if it meant he he had to lose any part of the happiness.'

 

He fell silent and stared off into space. After several long minutes Alexis decided he had forgotten she was there and snapped her fingers in front of his face. 'Dad? _Dad_!'

 

He shook himself and grinned. 'Now, young lady, it's time for you to go to sleep. School comes early in the morning.'

 

She nodded and settled obediently down onto her pillow. 'Hey, dad, what was their daughter's name?'

 

'Why, Alexis, of course.'

 

She wrinkled her nose. 'But if you're the prince, and I'm the daughter, then mom should have been the woman, and she would be an actress, not a mechanic.'

 

He leaned over and kissed her forehead. 'And that, sweetheart, is why they call it a fairy tale. Sleep tight, okay?' He switched her bedside lamp off and walked out of her room. He looked up and froze when he saw Martha leaning on the wall opposite the door, disapproval sketched on her face.

 

She waited until he closed the door behind him to speak. 'Richard,' she said reprovingly, 'why would you tell her that sad story?'

 

'Because she deserves to know.'

 

'What? That her real mother deserted her? How does she deserve that?'

 

'She didn't desert her,' he whispered fiercely, 'she had to make a choice, and she made the necessary one.'

 

'Richard, she was a semi-delusional woman who had a final break with reality that caused her to abandon her family. I'm not sure what was necessary about that.'

 

'Kaylee was not crazy, mother.'

 

Martha rolled her eyes. 'Of course not. She was just a victim of an evil intergalactic government who used a time traveling device to banish her to the past to keep her from curing their pet science project. Richard, you write murder mysteries, not science fiction. Don't get confused. The poor girl was terribly unbalanced.'

 

He blew out a deep breath, tired of having the same argument they'd had repetitively in the years since Kaylee had left. 'I have a book signing in the morning. I'm going to bed. Good night, mother.'

 

She patted his cheek sympathetically. 'Good night, dear. And please, let the past lie.'

 

He walked into his room and undressed slowly. When he was down to his boxers, he went to the closet and pulled out a dusty box from a back shelf. He blew off the lid and opened it, looking at the contents for a long time before pulling out a pair of brown overalls with a teddy bear patch on the leg and a hole in the stomach that had been repaired with pink string. He carried it with him to his bed and tucked it under his pillow before laying down and closing his eyes, hoping sleep would come quickly.

 

'Good night, Kaywinnit Lee,' he whispered, and let himself drift down into dreams.

>

 


End file.
